Diversity 365 Gallery hosts Exhibition #3
Three Rivers’ newest gallery, the Diversity 365 Gallery, will host Exhibition #3 now through April 17, 2023. The show features two-dimensional work from five Connecticut artists. All work explores themes of diversity, equity and inclusion. This show is the third in the series of Diversity 365 exhibitions and is the result of an invitation to all artists who either live or work in Connecticut. The Diversity 365 exhibitions have provided the Donald E. Welter Library at Three Rivers with a mechanism through which to identify art relevant to our greater community that will be purchased for the gallery’s permanent collection.
Liefeld, Julie Ann, TOO MUCH, never enough, mixed media, 2022Exhibition #1 featured art from the faculty at CSCU institutions, while Exhibition #2 featured art from the non-faculty staff and students in the CSCU system. The goal is that the library’s permanent collection will include work in a variety of two-dimensional media from the faculty, staff, and students from Connecticut’s state college and university systems, as well as from the general public. Purchases for the gallery’s permanent collection are expected to begin during the Spring 2023 semester. All art chosen for the three Diversity 365 exhibitions was selected anonymously by a reviewing committee.
Kwadwo Adae, from New Haven, had his work Protester Portraits selected for the show. As Adae describes in his artist’s statement, Protester Portraits consists of five large canvases that document the group fellow protesters that he met while “exercising his first amendment right of peaceable assembly protesting against police violence throughout Connecticut.”
Adae, Kwadwo, Protester Portraits, oil on canvas, 2020Julie Ann Liefeld, from Old Lyme, created two mixed media pieces that were selected for the show. She explains in her artist’s statement that her two-piece series entitled “TOO MUCH, never enough” explores her experience living with hidden disability including ADHD and a learning disability. She writes, “The two pieces demonstrate at two points in time, what it feels like trying to achieve value, inclusion, and acceptance in an impatient world that values linearity.”
Other artists represented in the show are Noel Vernon Bernard from Bridgeport, Valerie Garlick from New Haven and Sarah Schneiderman from Glastonbury. Exhibition #3 is available to view virtually or in person. The Diversity 365 Gallery is open during regular library hours at Three Rivers, Monday-Thursday, 8:30 am-8 pm and Friday 8:30 am-3 pm. Hours can change for holidays and semester breaks, so please call before your visit to confirm that the library/gallery is open, 860-215-9051. For questions about the show, please contact Laura Vasselle, LVasselle@trcc.commnet.edu.
READ MORENuclear Scholarship Deadline Extended to MARCH 4
Apply today — the full Nuclear Scholarship Deadline has been extended to March 4! Complete the online application at www.threerivers.edu/dominion.
The scholarships cover the full cost of tuition, books, and fees for a two-year associate degree program at Three Rivers Community College, starting with the Fall 2022 semester . Additionally, students receive a $150 per month stipend during the nine-month academic year and have a twelve-week paid internship experience at the Millstone Nuclear Power Station during the summer between their first and second academic year. This gives the students the opportunity to see nuclear utility operations first hand and develop significant practical work experience.
Through classroom, laboratory, and simulator instruction, this program educates students in the theories underlying the safe operation of nuclear power generating stations. Those opting to enter the workplace as technicians have found their education and experience in strong demand by Connecticut business and industry. Other scholarship recipients, upon completion of the program, have successfully transferred to nuclear engineering and health physics baccalaureate degree programs in state and nationally.
READ MORE
Nursing Pinning
[mk_page_section bg_image=”https://threerivers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/nursing-students.jpg” bg_position=”center center” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” bg_stretch=”true” full_width=”true” padding_top=”0″ padding_bottom=”0″ sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1469639571895{padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_empty_space height=”450px”][mk_fancy_title strip_tags=”true” tag_name=”h1″ color=”#ffffff” size=”80″ font_weight=”bold” txt_transform=”uppercase” margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”Oswald” font_type=”google” el_class=”page-title”]NURSING PINNING[/mk_fancy_title][vc_empty_space height=”100px” el_class=”page-titlebg” css=”.vc_custom_1469639726224{background-color: rgba(253,181,21,0.8) !important;*background-color: rgb(77,49,142) !important;}”][/vc_column][/mk_page_section][vc_row fullwidth=”true” css=”.vc_custom_1469635777230{padding-left: 20px !important;}”][vc_column][ultimate_spacer height=”10″][ultimate_spacer height=”20″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row fullwidth=”true”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1629126537492{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Three Rivers Community College Nursing Pinning
Three Rivers Community College holds a Nursing Pinning Ceremony for each class of nursing graduates. At the end of each fall and spring semester, friends and family gather to watch their loved ones take the final step in becoming nurses. During the ceremony, the nursing graduates receive their nursing pin, which marks the completion of their degree and serves as a symbol of their readiness to become compassionate professional caregivers.
Nursing Pinning Ceremonies
TRCC Nursing Pinning Spring 2021
TRCC Nursing Pinning Fall 2020
TRCC Personal Nursing Pinning – Spring 2020
The Spring 2020 pinning ceremony was different than all that came before it because Covid-19 prevented a traditional ceremony. In place of a gathering at the campus, dedicated faculty drove to the homes of the graduates to personally present them with their pins, all while maintaining social distancing.
TRCC Nursing Pinning Fall 2019
TRCC Nursing Pinning Spring 2019
TRCC Nursing Pinning Fall 2018
TRCC Nursing Pinning Spring 2018
TRCC Nursing Pinning Fall 2017
TRCC Nursing Pinning Spring 2017
The History of Three Rivers Nursing Pinning
Nursing Pinning ceremonies are steeped in tradition and symbolism. They date back to the early 1800s when Nursing education took place in specialized training programs outside of the college setting. Since nurses then did not earn an academic degree, the pinning symbolized the completion of their education.
In 1975, Mohegan Community College graduated its first Nursing class. The graduates of this class were the designers of the nursing pin. (Note: In 1992, Mohegan Community College and Thames Valley State Technical College were combined to form Three Rivers Community College.)
The design incorporated the college’s motto at that time, “peace through understanding, understanding through learning.” The dove with the olive branch in its mouth was taken from the college seal and is located at the bottom center of the pin. The dove represents peace and the olive branch represents learning.
In the center of the pin there is a caduceus (pronounced ka-doo-cee-us), an image of a wing-topped staff with two snakes intertwined. The two intertwined snakes represent symbols of fertility, wisdom and healing. The staff was carried by the ancient Greek heralds and ambassadors and represents truce, neutrality, and a noncombatant status. The caduceus has also long been the symbol of medical field.
Along the top edge, the pin bears the name of the College. Through the years, the names have changed to represent the name changes of the College.
The size of the pin has grown smaller over the years. This is due to the price in gold. Gold was chosen as the design material and color to represent achievement. Finally, the scalloped edge design is not completely understood but is thought to represent the challenges and successes of the nursing education experience.
Three Rivers is proud of all of our nursing graduates and wishes them successful and exciting careers as professional Registered Nurses.
Nursing A.S.
Our Nursing program is highly competitive. Its outstanding results are credited to the great relationships developed between students and faculty. Graduates’ scores on the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) are consistently above the national average, with a three year average of over 93%. And, our graduates report a 100% job placement on the last three graduate surveys.
Learn more about the Three Rivers Nursing program here.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][mk_custom_sidebar sidebar=”sidebar-19″][mk_custom_sidebar el_class=”programpage-sidebar” sidebar=”sidebar-25″][/vc_column][/vc_row] READ MORE14 Free Seminars that Address Today’s Biggest Environmental Issues
Join us for fourteen free seminars on some of the biggest environmental issues challenging us today. Topics range from Bird Conservation to Approaches to Eating in the United States: Consequences for our Health and Environment, and Global Climate Change to Our Ancient Culture, taught by a range of experts in their fields. Congressman Joe Courtney will also address Earth Day … 50 years! Environmental Issues in Connecticut and in the USA on April 8. Seminars are held in room C101 at Three Rivers Community College on Wednesdays, from 6:00-8:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to arrive promptly by 6:00 p.m.
(Note: These talks are included in Environmental Issues Seminar (K295) and Environmental Science Seminars (BIO 289), which can also be taken as 3-credit courses. Call 860-215-9016 for more information.)
A full list of seminars and lecturers is included below:
January 29 – What We Can Learn from the Water Systems of Ancient Rome – Dr. Gary Robbins, Professor of Geology & Hydrology, UCONN
February 5 – Bird Conservation across Connecticut and specifically in the Lyme Forest Block – Corrie Folsom-O’Keefe, Audubon Society
February 12 – Using GPS to Reveal the Secret Lives of Mountain Lions – Dr. Thomas Meyer, Professor of Geomatics, UCONN
February 19 – Approaches to Eating in the United States: Consequences for our Health and Environment – Dr. Hedley Freake, Professor of Nutritional Sciences, UCONN
February 26 – The History of the Green Lawn Dilemma: Coastal Water Quality Challenges in Connecticut – Judy Preston, UCONN Sea Grant
March 4 – Algal Diversity and Environmental Health – Dr. Louise Lewis, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, UCONN
March 11 – The Management of Recreational Fishing: What it Means for Connecticut’s Economy and Environment – Mike Beauchene, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
March 25 – International and National Concerns of Stormwater Pollution: Stormwater and Low Impact Design – Dr. Michael Dietz, Professor, UCONN Extension Office Program Director of NEMO
April 1 – Our Ancient Climate – Dr. Peter Siver, Professor of Botany and Environmental Studies, Director of Environmental Studies Program, Connecticut College
April 8 – Earth Day … 50 years! Environmental Issues in Connecticut and in the USA -Congressman Joe Courtney
April 15 – Invasive Aquatic Plants found in CT Lakes – Greg Bugbee and Abigail Wiegand, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
April 22 – Global Climate Change Abroad and in Connecticut: Consequences and Remedies – Dr. James O’Donnell, Professor of Marine Science, Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA)
April 29 – Making Sense of the Geographical Distribution and Conservation of Connecticut’s Amphibians and Reptiles – Hank Gruner, Author, Vice President of Programs, Connecticut Science Center (retired), and Herpetologist
May 6 – Hazardous Waste Management Regulations – David Stokes, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Waste Management and Enforcement
The seminars are coordinated by Diba Khan-Bureau, Professor of Environmental Engineering Technology, and are free and open to the public. For more info, contact Professor Diba Khan-Bureau at 860-215-9443 or dkhan-bureau@trcc.commnet.edu
READ MORE54th Pinning Ceremony Celebrates 36 Nursing Student Graduates
On Friday, December 13, Three Rivers Community College held its fifty-fourth Nursing Pinning Ceremony, and hundreds of friends and family gathered to watch their loved ones take the final step in becoming nurses. During the ceremony, 36 nursing students of the Class of Fall 2019 received their nursing pin, marking the completion of their nursing degree and serving as a symbol of their readiness to be compassionate professional caregivers.
Faculty and administration spoke to the students, admiring the hard work and determination that brought them to this point. Their class advisor, Associate Professor Jillian Zupan, acknowledged that nursing is a challenging career, saying, “You are about to enter a profession that is not for the weak hearted or thin skinned, but it is for the people that can embrace the challenge, lift up the weak and give their heart, and that is you.”
Krista Prendergast, a former Three Rivers nursing professor, was the keynote speaker. Now an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Southern Connecticut State University, Prendergast was this class’ Nursing 101 course leader while at Three Rivers. She was honored to address them at the pinning and urged them to “Keep your mind open as you enter the nursing profession. You are smart and strong, and your ideas matter.”
Katelyn Chenail, Class Vice-President and Class Speaker, told her classmates, “Keep pushing forward – find your niche and be the best nurses you ever could imagine. I am so proud of our hard work, dedication and willingness to go on.” A candlelight recitation of the Nightingale Pledge came after the presentation of the students’ nursing pins.
The students have earned an Associate of Science in Nursing. Upon completion of a licensing examination, the graduates will have earned the credential of Registered Nurse (RN).
Three Rivers graduates’ scores on the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) are consistently above the national average, with a three-year average of over 93%. Graduates also report a 99% job placement on the last three graduate surveys.
List of Nursing Graduates with their towns
- Sarah Behne, Norwich, CT
- Ma Agnes Booc, Old Mystic, CT
- Kathrine Bustamante, Portland, CT
- Michelle Callosingh-Nembhard, Waterbury, CT
- Amanda Caouette, Baltic, CT
- Katelyn Chenail, Moosup, CT
- Lindsay Danner, Groton, CT
- Christine David, Waterford, CT
- Anah Deangelis, Sterling, CT
- Alyssa DeCrosta, Killingworth, CT
- Courtney Duff, Oakdale, CT
- Kelsey Durand, Plainfield, CT
- Katherine Gagnier, Colchester, CT
- Laci Gardner, Norwich, CT
- Maria Grabill, Lisbon, CT
- Karen Greb, Dayville, CT
- Heather Gruwell, Chaplin, CT
- Meghan Ivey, Ledyard, CT
- Evelyn Johnson, New London, CT
- Kiari Johnson-Claudio, Salem, CT
- Tea Kutrolli, New London, CT
- Amanda Marchand, Baltic, CT
- Fallon McIvor, Bozrah, CT
- Donna Miller, Niantic, CT
- Alexander Nelson, Brookly, CT
- Kristina Oddo, Oakdale, CT
- Stefanie Owens, New London, CT
- Tabitha Parciak, Jewett City, CT
- Beth Rogers, Oakdale, CT
- Keleigh Santarcangelo, Plainfield, CT
- Jessica Scrivano, Willimantic, CT
- Sonia Stavens, Waterfod, CT
- Magdalena Tkaczuk, Colchester, CT
- Jiraporn Walton, Old Mystic, CT
- Cindy-Jo Youssef, North Grosvenordale, CT
- Ashley Zupan, East Haddam, CT
In the News | In The Thick Episode Now Available plus News Coverage
Listen now:
LIVE from Connecticut: Addiction in POC Communities
Podcast live show in Norwich focuses on addiction and mental health in communities of color
Norwich, CT (The Day, October 16, 2019) — After journalist Maria Hinojosa gave an introduction to the latest episode of the podcast “In The Thick” at Three Rivers Community College, talking about how “the opioid crisis right now is focusing on white people,” one of her podcast guests had a quick, polite correction.
“What we’re actually in is an overdose crisis,” said Kenyatta Thompson, senior community organizer for Katal Center for Health, Equity and Justice. She emphasized, “We’re not in a crisis of opioids; we’re in a crisis of people overdosing and dying from opioids.”
It was a moment that Hinojosa brought up later — bringing the conversation full-circle — when an audience member asked if she or her podcast co-host, Julio Ricardo Varela, ever found themselves slipping into misconceptions about the overdose crisis.
This question was a follow-up to a few questions Varela asked his podcast guests: What is being missed in the conversation about the overdose crisis? If you could change the media narrative, what would you do? What about media in Connecticut, specifically?
Hinojosa and Varela brought their podcast — which covers politics, culture and race through the lens of people of color — to Three Rivers Community College on Wednesday evening. The podcast is from Futuro Media, which Hinojosa launched in 2010.
She explained before the taping that the idea for “In The Thick” came after she was on NBC’s “Meet the Press” several times in 2015 but suddenly stopped being invited. Figuring that she has her own media company and could do her own show, she launched “In The Thick” in 2016.
The topic of the episode taped at Three Rivers was addiction and mental health in communities of people of color, both in Connecticut and nationally.
Joining Thompson as their guests were Kelvin Young, a sound healer and recovery coach, and Taylor Ford, statewide youth and family coordinator with FAVOR Inc.
Young spoke of his own experience as someone in recovery, who hasn’t used since March 6, 2009. Speaking of how he learned about yoga, meditation and sound healing in prison, Young commented, “I honestly thought that yoga was for rich white women, because of the way it’s marketed here in the United States.”
He talked about how trauma — a concept he didn’t think about growing up — was at the root of his addiction. Hinojosa cited toxic stress as a basis of addiction, while Varela pointed to both the War on Drugs and the actions of major pharmaceutical companies.
“People are hurting and we’re not dealing with the root causes of what is hurting people,” Thompson said, citing homelessness as an example. She also spoke of the risk to queer people and transgender youth, because of their experiences of being kicked out.
Talking about the media narratives, Ford said one struggle is that it’s all very “hush-hush,” that people “don’t want to talk about it, because it makes us look worse than what the media has already portrayed us to look like.”
Earlier in the day Thursday, Varela and podcast producer Nicole Rothwell held a podcasting workshop with more than 20 Three Rivers students. Varela said he encouraged the students to pitch their ideas to Futuro Media.
Another “In The Thick” live show will be taped at Eastern Connecticut State University on Oct. 22, this one about immigration and the Latino community.
The workshops and live shows are made possible through support from the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut and the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund.
“For us, it was wanting to do civic engagement work, and I saw this as a gift to our community, and to our young community,” Community Foundation President Maryam Elahi said.
— By Erica Moser, Day staff writer
The original article can be found here: ‘Podcast live show in Norwich focuses on addiction and mental health in communities of color’
READ MOREIn the News | Three Rivers graduates ‘reach their goal’
Norwich, Connecticut (The Day, May 22, 2019)— Elise Sperry of Waterford put things in reverse Wednesday, when she walked among the 563 graduates receiving degrees and certificates from Three Rivers Community College.
Frederick-Douglas Knowles II kisses his granddaughter Emerie Saige Thompson, 1, being held by his daughter Lanaisha Rodriguez after delivering his commencement address during Three Rivers Community College’s Commencement on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, at the school in Norwich. Over 550 students were awarded various degrees and certificates during the ceremony. (Sarah Gordon/The Day)
Sperry, 17, won’t graduate from high school until June 11 at the Three Rivers Middle College Magnet High School on the same campus. She has navigated the worlds of both high school and college for the past two years, earning an associate degree in liberal arts at the community college, while also serving as president of the group, Student Advocates for Gender Equality, and a member of the college Performing Arts group, Voices of the River.
Sperry also volunteered extensively in the community, at schools, convalescent homes, homeless shelters and animal rescue programs. She’s not done with double-dipping. She earned a full scholarship to continue her education at the University of Connecticut, where she plans a double major in geography and human rights. After that, she plans to obtain a master’s degree in public health and continue with a career in academic research.
Sperry said she was “definitely busy” and admitted to being exhausted at times, but the former fencer at Waterford High School said she has learned how to juggle a tough schedule.
“It’s actually easier to balance if you’re good at time management,” she said.
Sperry was one of several students Three Rivers Community College President Mary Ellen Jukoski highlighted Wednesday in her address to graduates, asking each of those named to stand to be recognized. She then turned to more general accomplishments, asking graduates to stand if they had to work their way through school, raise a family while attending school, or were the first in their families to graduate from college.
Few remained seated through her list.
“You chose to enroll at Three Rivers for its quality education and its affordability,” Jukoski said. “You walked the halls of this fine institution, studied in the library, attended classes with your peers and our faculty. You did all of this to reach your goal, to graduate.”
Then Jukoski asked the graduates to stand, turn around and “salute your faithful supporters and enthusiastic cheerleaders.”
Thomas and Mary Baudro of Gales Ferry didn’t have to strain to find their support network. The married couple were Three Rivers’ oldest graduates Wednesday and have been married for 45 years.
Mary Baudro collected her first college degree Wednesday, graduating Three Rivers magna cum laude with an associate degree in visual fine arts. But Tom Baudro is a pro at these ceremonies, having received three associate degrees and three certificates from Three Rivers since 2009 in architectural studies, drafting and design, and a bachelor’s degree in general studies from UConn.
“He hasn’t missed a semester in 17 years,” Mary Baudro said of her husband.
Tom Baudro, a designer at Dufrane Nuclear in Winsted, will enroll again at Three Rivers in the fall for a geographic information system class, which he said will help in his position as a member of the Ledyard Planning and Zoning Commission.
Mary Baudro said she has been a “full-time homemaker, mother and grandmother” most of her life. In 2014, she was checking out the Three Rivers website and meant to sign up for an assessment of prior learning, “and my finger slipped.” She connected with the fine arts degree program, and never went back.
One of her paintings was selected for the Three Rivers art show at the Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich. She said she got the itch to enroll at Three Rivers in the past while her husband was working on his degrees, but she was always too busy at home.
Now, she said, “I want to paint for fun.” She earned a scholarship for a free class at Three Rivers, and will take a history class this summer, and next year, she will enroll for a general studies degree.
Attending Three Rivers now runs in the Baudro family. Mary said she had a couple of classes with her granddaughter, Lillie Kuhn, a current Three Rivers student.
Jukoski touched on the many varied journeys students have made to reach Three Rivers and Wednesday’s graduation day. Jogaintz Ledoux of New London arrived in the United States from Haiti as a boy. Ledoux on Wednesday earned an associate degree in mechanical engineering technology, and will work as a full-time employee of Pratt & Whitney, where he was a summer intern. He will participate in a program at Pratt that will pay for his bachelor’s degree once he has worked there for a year.
“Yet today, her dedication and perseverance enabled her to graduate magna cum laude in nursing,” Jukoski said, “while helping the homeless and volunteering in the medical reserve corps and Uncas Health District. … She aspires to be a great nurse.”
While many Three Rivers graduates came from homes far away to attend the community college, keynote speaker Frederick-Douglass Knowles II, poet laureate of Hartford and an associate professor of English at Three Rivers, grew up in the neighborhoods surrounding the school.
His grandmother Martha Montgomery moved to Norwich in 1940, and established herself as an active volunteer, member of the NAACP, delivering meals on wheels and active in many civic ventures. In 1980, she purchased the house at 575 New London Turnpike — directly across from Three Rivers’ current campus.
But instead of being welcomed, the family on the very first night in their new home frantically threw buckets of water at a burning cross on their front lawn, with an attempted message that “this is not your neighborhood.” Instead, Knowles said, his grandmother cultivated that land with fruit trees, a flower garden and vegetable garden, and now 110 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren. Montgomery died two years ago at age 102, and Thursday would have been her birthday, Knowles said.
“Graduates, you are my community,” Knowles said. “Like you, I sat in these same seats and received my associate degree from this institution. Homage is the purpose of community. So I ask you, graduates, what is your purpose? How will you pay homage to your community?”
Class valedictorian Michelle Reynolds of Ledyard, who received her associate degree in graphic arts with a perfect 4.0 grade point average that earned her the Medallion for Academic Excellence, thanked her classmates and many professors who pushed her to achieve and made her feel comfortable despite her being 10 years older than most of her classmates and unfamiliar with things like Google Drive or memes.
“Today,” she said, “we are all valedictorians.”
The original article can be found here: ‘Three Rivers graduates ‘reach their goal’’
RELATED GALLERIES
| Three Rivers Community College Commencement |
In the News | Three Rivers grads urged to ‘cultivate your community’
Norwich, Connecticut (Norwich Bulletin, May 22, 2019) — Commencement speaker Frederick-Douglas Knowles II urged Three Rivers Community College graduates to “cultivate your community” by using their new educations to make where they live better places.
Almost 600 graduates received associate degrees and certificates at the college’s 54th commencement exercises on Wednesday.
Hundreds more family members and friends cheered them on at the ceremony held at the New London Turnpike college’s campus.
Graduate Lisa Holliday, of Griswold, points to her family and her favorite professor Wednesday at the 54th Commencement for Three Rivers Community College. [John Shishmanian/Norwich Bulletin.com]
Knowles, an English professor at Three Rivers and Hartford’s poet laureate and an African American, told the students he grew up in a home across the street from the college. On the first night his family moved in, neighbors burned a cross in their yard.
“This insidious act did not deter our family,” Knowles said. While racism, homophobia, elitism and similar attitudes are trying to collapse communities, education can fight them, he said.
“Cultivate your community like it was your own Garden of Eden,” Knowles said.
Class Valedictorian Michelle Reynolds thanked her fellow graduates, as well as the college’s faculty and staff, and family members and friends for support.
“We don’t succeed alone,” Reynolds said. “We stand on the shoulders of those who have lifted us.”
Reynolds, who graduated with a perfect 4.0 average and received an associate degree in graphic design, also was awarded the Medallion for Academic Excellence.
The two oldest graduates at the ceremony were Thomas and Mary Baudro of Gales Ferry, who have been married for 45 years. Thomas Baudro, 74, actually received his third degree from Three Rivers – in technology studies, and received a bachelor’s degree from UConn.
“This is a community college that is truly a community,” said Mary Baudro, 72, who received her first degree in visual fine arts. “I didn’t know I could draw until I got here.”
The youngest graduate is Elise Sperry, 17, a student at Three Rivers Middle College, which is a magnet high school on the same campus. Sperry will get her high school diploma from that school in June. In addition, it allowed her to receive an associate degree in liberal arts and sciences.
She will be joining the honors program at UConn in the fall and as well as being able to get her bachelor’s degree in two years instead of four, Sperry has received a full scholarship.
“There’s a lot of things I’m definitely going to miss here,” Sperry said. “I feel very prepared going on to UConn.”
Another well-prepared graduate is Jogaintz Ledoux, of New London, a native of Haiti, who is getting a degree in mechanical engineering technology. Ledoux, 20, got a summer internship with Pratt & Whitney and now will work there full-time.
Zaha Bush, 24, of Salem, received her degree in nursing after four years at Three Rivers, while working full-time.
“It was affordable. It has a lot to offer,” Bush said of the college. “The staff would really help you. They want you to succeed.”
She said she tells friends thinking about college, “Come here first. It’s a great place to discover yourself and get direction.”
“I love it. I’m sad to be leaving,” graduate Sadie Wilson, 24, of Voluntown, said. Wilson received her degree in criminal justice enforcement and is studying to be a lawyer. She also will get her bachelor’s degree this year from Roger Williams University.
She spent four years at Three Rivers. “I got pregnant, so it took me a little longer,” Wilson said, holding her 17-month-old son, William Babbitt, before the start of the ceremony.
At the ceremony, Norwich community leader Lottie Scott, whom Jukoski praised as “a wonderful role model,” received the Distinguished Community Service Award.
An honorary degree also was presented to William Stanley, a graduate of Mohegan Community College, which merged with Thames Valley Technical College to form Three Rivers. Stanley is an executive at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London and is president of the Three Rivers Foundation board of directors.
— By John Barry, Norwich Bulletin staff writer
The original article can be found here: ‘Three Rivers grads urged to ‘cultivate your community.’
READ MOREHartford Poet Laureate to deliver Commencement address at Three Rivers on May 22, 2019
Three Rivers Community College is pleased to announce that Frederick-Douglass Knowles II, Hartford Poet Laureate and associate professor at Three Rivers, will be the keynote speaker at the College’s fifty-fourth commencement ceremony, which will take place on Wednesday, May 22 at 5 p.m. outdoors on the campus green.
“Frederick-Douglass’s community activism, appointment as Hartford’s inaugural poet laureate, and close ties to Norwich made him a natural choice for Commencement Speaker,” said Three Rivers President Mary Ellen Jukoski. “We are honored that he will be speaking and fortunate to call him one of our own.”
Frederick-Douglass Knowles II is a poet, educator and activist involved in community education. He is the inaugural Poet Laureate for the City of Hartford. In this role, he promotes awareness and appreciation of poetry, spoken word, and writing in Hartford; and endeavors to instill pride in the community. His collection of poetry, BlackRoseCity was featured at the 2018 Association of Writers & Writing Programs. Knowles’ works have been featured in the Connecticut River Review; Sinkhole Magazine; Poems on the Road to Peace: A Collective Tribute to Dr. King Volume 2; The East Haddam Stage Company of Connecticut, The 13th Annual Acacia Group Conference at California State University, Lefoko magazine, and Fingernails Across the Chalkboard: Poetry and Prose on HIV/AIDS from the Black Diaspora by Third World Press. His poem “Mason Freeman Cuts Jenkins Down,” has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Knowles is also an Associate Professor of English who has taught at Three Rivers for 11 years in the English and Communications Department. He also teaches classes at a local prison as part of the Three Rivers Community College Second Chance Pell Grant program. In addition to serving as the Three Rivers representative on CSCU’s Students First Consolidation Committee, he co-founded the Men Against Domestic Violence Artistic Expression annual event which consists of music, poetry readings and performances, and a live artist painting. Knowles also chairs the TRCC Community Involvement Committee.
READ MORE15 Free Seminars that Address Today’s Biggest Environmental Issues
Wednesdays, January 30 – May 15, 6:00-:30 p.m.
Join us for fifteen free seminars on some of the biggest environmental issues challenging us today. Topics range from genetically engineer crops to the rise of plastics in the oceans and more and are taught by a range of experts in their fields. Seminars are held in room C101 at Three Rivers Community College on Wednesdays, from 6:00-8:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to arrive promptly by 6:00 p.m.
(Note: Environmental Issues Seminar (K295) can also be taken as a 3-credit course. Call 860-215-9016 for more information.)
A full list of seminars and lecturers is included below:
January 30 – Why Do We Save Land? The History and Role of Land Conservation as a Community Asset – Anthony Irving, Eightmile River Wild & Scenic Coordinating Committee
February 6 – What We Can Learn from the Water Systems of Ancient Rome? How Does Climate Change Factor In? – Dr. Gary Robbins, Professor Geology & Hydrology, UCONN
February 13 – Water Resources in the Developing World: Volunteering to Help Supply Water for Those Without – Dr. John Lane, United States Geological Survey (USGS)
February 20 – Food Justice, Reclaiming Land for Agriculture – Alicia MacAvay, Director of Fresh New London
February 27 – Approaches to Eating in the United States: Consequences for our Health and Environment – Dr. Hedley Freake, Professor Nutritional Sciences, UCONN
March 6 – Algal Diversity and Environmental Health – Dr. Louise Lewis, Professor Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, UCONN
March 20 – The History of the Green Lawn Dilemma: Coastal Water Quality Challenges in Connecticut – Judy Preston, UCONN Sea Grant
March 27 – Addressing Climate Change and the Participation Principle: Public Engagement, Climate Justice, and Sustainable Lifestyles – Dr. Stephen Axon, Professor of Geography & Sustainability, SCSU
April 3 – Invasive Non-Native Aquatic Plants Found in Connecticut Lakes – Greg Bugbee and Abigail Wiegand, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
April 10 – Public Perception, Human Health Risks, and Environmental Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops – Dr. Gerald Berkowitz, Professor Agriculture Biotechnology, UCONN
April 17 – Plastic are Invading Our Oceans Worldwide. What are the Impacts Internationally and in Connecticut? – Dr. Vincent Breslin, Professor Marine Sciences, SCSU
April 24 – Bird Conservation across Connecticut and Specifically in the Lyme Forest Block – Corrie Folsom-O’Keefe, Audubon Society
May 1 – International and National Concerns of Stormwater Pollution: Stormwater and Low Impact Design – Dr. Michael Dietz, Professor, UCONN Extension Office Program Director of NEMO
May 8 – Global Climate Change Abroad and In Connecticut. What are the Solutions? – Dr. James O’Donnell, Professor of Marine Sciences, UCONN Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation
May 15 – Hazardous Waste Management Regulations – David Stokes, CT Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Waste Management and Enforcement
The seminars are coordinated by Diba Khan-Bureau, Professor of Environmental Engineering Technology, and are free and open to the public. For more info, contact Professor Diba Khan-Bureau at 860-215-9443 or dkhan-bureau@threerivers.edu.
READ MORE